Sara Yamaguchi

Sara Yamaguchi (born 28 April 2008)^[1] is a Japanese artistic gymnast. She is the 2023 Junior World all-around silver medalist and team champion. She is the 2022 Japanese balance beam and floor exercise champion.

Sara Yamaguchi
Country represented	Japan
Born	(2008-04-28) 28 April 2008 (age 15)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Junior International Elite
Club	Cartwheel Gymnastics
Medal record Representing  Japan Junior World Championships 2023 Antalya Team 2023 Antalya All-around

Career

Yamaguchi qualified for the floor exercise final at the 2021 All-Japan Event Championships and finished in seventh place.^[2] Then at the 2021 All-Japan Team Championships, she helped her club, Cartwheel Gymnastics, finish in eighth place, and she finished seventh in the all-around.^[3]

Yamaguchi finished tenth in the all-around at the 2022 All-Japan Championships.^[4] She then finished eighth all-around at the 2022 NHK Cup, and she had the highest scores of the event on both the balance beam and floor exercise.^[5] Then at the 2022 All-Japan Event Championships, she won the gold medal on both the balance beam and floor exercise.^[6] She helped her club finish in fourth place at the 2022 All-Japan Team Championships, and she won the all-around bronze medal behind Shoko Miyata and Mana Okamura.^[7]

Yamaguchi made her international debut at the 2023 Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. The Japanese team of Yamaguchi, Mika Mizuno, and Haruka Nakamura won the gold medal by over two points ahead of the United States.^[8] The team competition also served as the qualification round, and she qualified in first place for the all-around final and also qualified for the uneven bars and balance beam finals.^[9] In the all-around final, she fell on her Yurchenko 1.5 vault and finished second behind her teammate Nakamura.^[10] She then finished fifth in the uneven bars final and fourth in the balance beam final.^[11]

Yamaguchi was in the lead after the first day of the 2023 All-Japan Championships with a total score of 54.566, almost a full point ahead of World champion Watanabe Hazuki.^[12] However, on the second day of competition, she tore her ACL on her balance beam dismount.^[13]

References

1. (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 2 April 2023. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
2. Hopkins, Lauren (8 June 2021). "2021 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
3. Hopkins, Lauren (13 December 2021). "2021 All-Japan Team Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
4. Hopkins, Lauren (23 April 2022). "2022 All-Japan Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
5. Hopkins, Lauren (16 May 2022). "2022 NHK Trophy Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
6. Hopkins, Lauren (20 June 2022). "2022 All-Japan Event Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
7. Hopkins, Lauren (12 December 2022). "2022 All-Japan Team Championships Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
8. Burke, Patrick (2 April 2023). "Japan top medals table with team successes at Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships". Inside the Games. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
9. "The Japanese women are World Junior team champions!". International Gymnastics Federation. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
10. "Young sensations Qin, Nakamura capture World All-Around titles in Antalya". International Gymnastics Federation. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
11. "2nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships Antalya (TUR), 29 March - 2 April 2023 Women's Event Finals" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 2 April 2023. pp. 2, 3. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
12. Karo, Shintano (20 April 2023). "All-Japan All Around Championships 2023: 14-year-old Yamaguchi Sara is top finalist and on verge of national stardom". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
13. @TheGymternet (April 25, 2023). "Yamaguchi is a confirmed ACL injury that will keep her out for a year..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.